106 MYSTERIES OF THE FLOWERS 



stamens and pistil hide in the hold of their frail 

 barque, the roof-petals close, and all is as before, 

 save that the act of cross-fertilisation has been ac- 

 complished. 



A perfectly similar action takes place in each 

 little floret of the clover. Their construction is 

 exactly the same; only they are so much smaller 

 that they can admit but the head of the bee. The 

 clover florets are closely packed together, and hence 

 have all the advantages of mutual association, like 

 the daisies; but they are not Composites, and run 

 no risk of self-fertilisation. They are, in fact, abso- 

 lutely dependent upon the visits of bees, as the 

 following story will demonstrate: 



In the earlv davs of the settlement of Australia, 

 the farmers there sent to England for clover-seed, 

 which they planted and grew with success. The 

 first crop in that virgin soil produced magnificent 

 flower-heads, but no seeds. The valuable plant 

 refused, mysteriously, to propagate itself. What 

 could cause it to be thus fickle? The answer to the 

 puzzle was "no bees." In the absence of their bee- 

 affinity, the clover refused to produce its kind; so 

 the Australians were obliged to send for bees, and 

 to acclimatize them there. The bees and the clover 

 resumed their usual life work, and lived happily 

 ever after. 



